Dear Stephen,

I am written to tell you about my problem with my teacher. I don’t know what to deal with it. In my spare time I often go to the library to find anything about space travel. This makes my teacher very angry. To him, good marks are everything and that I should spend less time on my lessons, even at weekends. I think healthy hobbies is helpful in our studies. Whether I can achieve a balance between my schoolwork and my hobbies, it will be of great values to my future development. But I think my teacher understands me. I feel badly about that. What shall I do? Can you offer me some suggestions?   

                                                         Yours,

                                                         Li Hua

Senior high school students in Zhejiang Province is doing a new course calling General Technology. It aims to teach pupils basic skills and improve his designing abilities. It requires students to use various types of common tools safely. Any basic skills, such as repairing or washing clothing, are also included in the lectures. More importantly they are expected to able to design and make an item that is useful in their lives. They also have to attend a writing test for the course before graduation. As it’s total different from those traditional course, the course is very popular with students. They enjoy it mainly because of the course is closely related to everyday life.

I tries to avoid to meet my biology teacher; she is such a bore.

In early January this year, the rate of UFO reports were steady, around three per weeks(week). When however, on Monday, January 16. a science fiction film about visitors to outer space was shown on television, there was the  immediate increase in reports of sightings from all parts of the States. The commanding officer, Wayne Tyler, who directly responsible for the study of all such reports, decided to making  his findings known. They wrote an article, which said that all UFO reports could be explained for quite naturally by aircraft movements. Follow this explanation, there was a rapid drop in the number of reported sightings, because the rate remained above the previous level.

Our school lies on the foot of a mountain with a small river passes by. It used to be a quiet, clean and beautiful place for a school. It is a pity which things have changed after a chemical factory was built near our school one year ago. Every day the factory produces many waste water and some harmful gases. The terribly pollution is harmful to our health. What’s bad, the great noise from the factory had a bad effect on our activities. As a result, our school is no longer what it used to. Our teachers and students are miserable beyond the description. 

While football fans feel strongly angry and shocked about mistakes made by referees (裁判) because they cannot see clearly what has happened, a small German company is quietly pleased.

     For Cairos Technologies, mistakes made by referees are the kind of advertising that money cannot buy. The company has developed a tiny chip(芯片) that fits inside a football and determines whether the ball has crossed the goal line, by being able to discover its exact location on the field. The world football organization, FIFA, has shown interest in the technology. It is very possible that the new technology will be used in the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

"We've been testing the technology at the main soccer stadium in Nuremberg for some time and more recently in an under-17 FIFA Cup in Peru," said Gunter Rohmer, a director of the company. "The technology has performed well, and we're pretty optimistic that it will be used at the games in Germany next year."

The chip only weighs 12 grams, and is placed in the center of the football. It sends 2,000 signals a second to a receiver network of 12 antennas(天线),placed around the field. The receivers then send information about the ball's location to a central computer, and because it works in real time, it can immediately tell the referee whether a goal has been scored. The chip even can tell when the ball crosses the line in mid-air. Oliver Braun, one of the inventors of the chip, says that feedback from German referees was generally positive. Germany sports-wear giant Adidas is also optimistic about using this kind of chip in other ball sports.

FIFA aims to test the technology later this year at another game in Japan before deciding whether or not to introduce it in all 12 stadiums in Germany for next year's World Cup.

1. Carlos Technologies is pleased because ________.

    A. football fans are angry with referees

    B. their new product can satisfy football fans

    C. their new product will have a good market

    D. they can sell a lot of football in the future

2. In the first sentence in Paragraph 2,"... mistakes made by referees are the kind of advertising that money cannot buy" means ___________.

    A. Carlos Technologies can't afford the high price for advertising their product

    B. Mistakes in production are also a kind of advertisement

    C. Carios Technologies has already spent a lot of money on advertising their product

    D. Referees' mistakes will be of great help for the sale of Carlos Technologies' new product

3. The underlined word "feedback" probably means ___________.

    A. information given back by a user      B. advice given by someone

C. supplying food to customers          D. food given back by consumers

4. The new product has drawn attention from some _________.

A. famous people     B. referees         C. big companies     D. countries

One hundred and thirteen million Americans have at least one bank-issued credit card(信用卡). They give their owners automatic(自动的) credit in stores, restaurants, and hotels, at home, across the country, and even abroad, and they make many banking services available as well. More and more of these credit cards can be read automatically, making it possible to withdraw (取回) or deposit money in different locations, whether or not the local branch bank is open. For many of us the "cashless society" is not on the horizon—it's already here.

While computers offer these conveniences to consumers, they have many advantages for sellers too. Electronic cash registers can do much more than simply ring up sales. They can keep a wide range of records, including who sold what, when, and to whom. This information allows businessmen to keep track of their list of goods by showing which items are being sold and how fast they are moving. Decisions to reorder or return goods to suppliers can then be made. At the same time these computers record which hours are busiest and which employees are the most efficient, allowing personnel and staffing assignments(人员安排) to be made accordingly. And they also identify preferred customers for promotional campaigns. Computers are relied on by manufacturers for similar reasons. Computer-analyzed marketing reports can help to decide which products to emphasize(强调) now, which to develop for the future, and which to drop.  Computers keep track of goods in stock, of raw materials on hand, and even of the production process itself.

Many other commercial enterprises, from theaters to magazine publishers, from gas and public utilities(公共事业) to milk processors, bring better and more efficient services to consumers through the use of computers.

51. According to the passage, the credit card enables its owner to _______.

A. withdraw as much money from the bank as he wishes

B. obtain more convenient services than other people do

C. enjoy greater trust from the storekeeper

D. cash money wherever he wishes to

52. From the first paragraph we learn that _________.

A. in the future all the Americans will use credit cards

B. credit cards are mainly used in the United State today

C. nowadays many Americans do not pay in cash

D. it is now more convenient to use credit cards than before

53. The phrase "ring up sales" in line 2 paragraph 2 most probably means ______ .

A. make an order of goods     B. record sales on a cash register

C. call the sales manager      D. keep track of the goods in stock

54. What is this passage mainly about?

A. Approaches to the commercial use of computers.

B. Conveniences brought about by computers in business.

C. Significance of automation in commercial enterprises.

D. Advantages of credit cards in business.

 Thanksgiving Day is a special holiday in the United States and Canada. Families and friends gather to eat and give thanks for their blessing.

Thanksgiving Day is really a harvest festival. This is why it is celebrated in late fall, after the crops are in. But one of the first thanksgivings in America had nothing to do with a good harvest. On December 4, 1619, the Pilgrims (朝圣者) from England landed near what is now Charles City, Virginia. They knelt down and thanked God for their safe journey across the Atlantic.

The first New England Thangksgiving did celebrate a rich harvest. The Pilgrims landed at what is now Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1620. They had a difficult time and the first winter was cruel. Many of the Pilgrims died. But the next year, they had a good harvest. So Governor Bradford declared a three-day feast. The Pilgrims invited Indian friends to join them for their special feast. Everyone brought food.

In time, other colonies (殖民地) began to celebrate a day of thanksgiving. But it took years before there was a national Thanksgiving Day. During the Civil War, Sarah Josepha Hale persuaded Abraham Lincoln to do something about it. He proclaimed (宣布) the last Thursday of November 1863 as a day of thanksgiving. Today, Americans celebrate this happy harvest festival on the fourth Thursday in November, Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving Day in much the same way as their American neighbors. But the Canadian Thanksgiving Day falls on the second Monday in October.

1. The passage mainly tells us____________.

   A. how Thanksgiving Day came into being and the different ways it is celebrated

   B. how to celebrate Thanksgiving Day

   C. how Thanksgiving Day changed with the time and places

   D. why Thanksgiving Day is a harvest holiday

2. Thanksgiving Day is celebrated____________ .

   A. in spring      B. in summer         C. in autumn    D. in winter

3. The first to celebrate thanksgiving were____________  .

   A. people in Canada           B. Governor Bradford

   C. some people from England   D. the American Indians

4. We can infer from the passage that New England must be____________ .

   A. in England                      B. in Canada

   C. on some island off the Atlantic      D. in America

5. Which of the following statements is NOT true?

   A. There’s little difference between the American way and the Canadian way to celebrate Thanksgiving Day.

   B. Abraham Lincoln was not the first to decide on thanksgiving celebrations.

   C. Thanksgiving Day used to be a holiday to celebrate a good harvest.

   D. Thanksgiving Day is celebrated to express the American and Indian people’s thanks to God.

These days a green building means more than just the color of the paint. Green buildings can also refer to environmentally friendly houses, factories and offices.

   Green buildings mean “reducing the impact（影响） of the building on the land”, Taryn Holowka of the US Green Building Council in Washington , D, C. said. According to Holowka, building account for （占了）65 percent of total US electricity use.

     But Green buildings can reduce energy and water use. Also the buildings are often located near public transportation such as buses and subways, so that people can drive their cars less.That could be good for the environment ,because cars use a lot of gas and give off waste air. Green buildings are often built on the developed land ,so that the buildings don’t destroy forests.

   Marty Dettling is the project manager for a building that put these ideas into action .The Soliare has been called the country’s first green high-rise building. According to Dettling ,”We’ve reduced our energy use by one-third and our water by 50 percent.”

   The Soliare reduces the use of energy by using solar power.” On the face of the building we have solar panels which change the sun’s energy into electricity,” Dettling explained.

   The Solaire also has lights that automatically turn off when people leave the room. In addition, the building has lots of windows, allowing people to use the sun for light during the day.

   Not everyone is eager to move into a green building, however. Some people think that things like solar panels cost more money than traditional energy sources. Anyhow, Holoka said,’’It’s going to be big.”

1. What does The Solaire refer to?

      A. the first green-high building

      B. the first green-high building in imagination

      C. the project of building a green-high building

      D. environmentally friendly houses

2.    A green building is often built ______.

      A. in developing cities                              B. in small cities

      C. in developed areas                                D. near the high building

3.    When Holowka says in the last paragraph, “It’s going to be big”, she means that green buildings________.

      A. will be more comfortable                      B. will become popular in future

      C. will be more convenient                   D. will take the place of traditional buildings

4.    What is the main subject discussed in the text?

      A. Green buildings help save the environment

      B. The Solaire serves as a model of high buildings

      C. Energy shortage calls for buildings of new design

      D. Dettling designed the first green building in the US.

 Frank Woolworth was born in Rodman, New York., in 1852. His family were very poor farmers, and there was never enough to eat. Frank decided he did not want to be farmer. He took a short business course, and went to work as a salesman in a large city.

Woolworth realized he had a natural skill for showing goods to attract people’s interest, but he soon learned something more important. One day his boss told him to sell some odds and ends（小商品）for as much as he could get. Frank put all these things on one table with a sign which said FIVE CENTS EACH. People fought and pushed to buy the things and the table was soon cleared.

Soon afterwards, Woolworth opened his own store, selling goods at five and ten cents. But he had another lesson to learn before he became successful. That is, if you want to make money by selling low-price goods, you have to buy them in large quantities directly form the factories. Once, for example, Woolworth went to Germany and placed an order for knives. The order was so large that the factory had to keep running 24 hours a day for a whole year. In this way, the price of the knives was cut down by half.

By 1919, Woolworth had over 1000 stores in the US and Canada, and opened his first store in London. He made many millions and his name became famous throughout the world. He always run his business according to strict rules, of which the most important was: “THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT.”

1. Frank took a short business course in order to ____________.

A. earn more money for his family

B. learn something from a salesman

C. get away from the farm

D. get enough to eat.

2. Frank sold the odds and ends quickly because _____________.

A. he knew how to get people to buy his goods.

B. he cut down the price by half

C. he had put the goods on a table in a very nice way.

D. the sign he put on the table was well designed.

3. The price of the knives was cut down by half because ______________.

A. the factory workers worked 24 hours a day.

B. knives were ordered in large quantities directly from the factory.

C. the knives were made in Germany, where labour（劳动力）was cheap.

D. the knives were produced in one factory.

4. _____________ make Woolworth a world-famous man.

A. His business skills and his wealth.

B. The low price of the goods he sold.

C. His trip to Germany and his huge order of knives.

D. His natural skill for showing things.

5. The belief that: “The customer is always right” suggests that _______________.

A. whenever there is a quarrel between the customer and shop assistant, the customers are always right.

B. If you want to succeed, the rule is the only way.

C. stores must always follow the customer’s orders if they want to make more money.

D. stores should do their best to meet the customer’s needs if they want to be successful.